For almost 40 years, Duke University has been internationally recognized for outstanding immunological research and training. Duke immunologists and their trainees have made significant contributions to basic and clinical immunobiology. To continue this tradition of excellence and sustain its growth, the proposed Duke University Training Program in Basic Immunology will provide outstanding pre- and postdoctoral training in fundamental immunology, preparing young investigators by providing the intellectual framework and research skills necessary for first-rate science. The proposed Training Faculty is comprised of 27 immunologists who hold primary or secondary appointments in the Department of Immunology. A selections committee (SC) will choose outstanding predoctoral trainees from the students accepted into the Duke Graduate Program in Immunology. These highly capable students will enter a graduate program based on a carefully chosen core curriculum that provides superb grounding in basic immunology, cell and molecular biology, and genetics. Graduate students in the Training Program will be supported for two years, until their admission to doctoral candidacy and the initiation of dissertation research. Postdoctoral applicants will also be selected by the SC from applications to the Training Program or to individual members of the proposed Training Faculty. Postdoctoral fellows may undertake didactic training to augment their preparation for immunological research and will participate in ethics training and Program seminars. For both graduate and postgraduate trainees, the proposed Training Program will stress experimental strategy and design, analysis and interpretation of data, understanding and knowledge of the primary literature, and communication of research findings.